Yan Jingshuang was a martial artist. Her voice was cold yet forceful, carrying clearly enough to reach every person’s ears in the hall.
The room fell into an uncanny silence— so still that one could almost hear the faint crackle of burning charcoal coming from the Boshan censer resting on the corner flower stand.
Everyone stared in shock at the figure standing in the middle of the banquet hall.
At that moment, a maid who had just entered accidentally tripped on the doorframe. The winter pears on the celadon porcelain plate in her hands instantly tumbled across the floor, making a series of thumping sounds.
Steward Zhang seized the opportunity and hurried over, quietly scolding the maid.
“How do you do your work? Can’t you be more careful? Don’t you know what kind of occasion this is?”
“I-I’m sorry……”
“Then hurry up, clean everything and leave!”
After that brief interruption, the tense, suffocating atmosphere seemed to ease somewhat.
Master Ning was the first to recover. His smile looked somewhat stiff now, but there was not the slightest trace of anger in his gaze toward Yan Jingshuang.
“Jingshuang, I heard you were struck by lightning some time ago. Could it be that…… you still haven’t fully recovered? Perhaps your words have become somewhat confused?”
Master Ning’s tone was gentle. To outsiders, he appeared to be a truly considerate elder concerned about Yan Jingshuang.
His words also allowed everyone to gradually come to their senses.
Yan Jingshuang had indeed been struck by lightning some time ago, an incident that had caused quite a stir throughout Hangzhou. Fortunately, she had survived the disaster. The lightning had merely left her unconscious for several days before she woke up, and she had suffered no lasting physical problems.
Ning Mo had also gone to visit Yan Jingshuang at the time. However, his actions had nearly made Master Ning furious.
At that time, in order to properly demonstrate the Ning family’s sincerity to the Yan family, Master Ning had gone to great expense to purchase a ginseng root that was over a hundred years old and had ordered Ning Mo to deliver it to Yan Jingshuang so she could nourish her body.
Who could have known that halfway there, Ning Mo had heard that Ming Chuxue’s high fever would not subside and had immediately used that ginseng on Ming Chuxue instead?
Later, when Master Ning happened to speak with Yan Jingshuang’s father, Marquis Weiwu, the two men’s accounts had nearly failed to match up. Fortunately, Master Ning was sufficiently smooth and managed to cover up the discrepancy before Marquis Weiwu noticed anything amiss.
In Master Ning’s impression, Yan Jingshuang was dull and wooden, with a personality much like that of Marquis Weiwu, who knew how to fight but was not particularly clever. She would not easily notice anything between Ning Mo and Ming Chuxue.
Therefore, when she suddenly behaved so strangely, Master Ning immediately interpreted it as a lingering effect of the lightning strike she had suffered recently.
She had simply misspoken and said ‘I want to break off the engagement’ instead of ‘I want to get engaged’.
The other guests present naturally came to the same conclusion after Master Ning spoke.
They thought that Yan Jingshuang really was hopelessly devoted to Ning Mo. She was so eager to confirm their engagement that she had even blurted out the wrong words.
But such an overeager display inevitably made her seem somewhat pathetic in everyone’s eyes.
Still, these people were all shrewd. Their thoughts raced in countless directions, yet none of it showed on their faces. They once again busied themselves with whatever they had been doing— drinking tea, picking up fruit, chatting idly, or twisting their handkerchiefs.
However, the cold voice sounded for the second time. She had not raised her volume, yet every word landed with undeniable force.
“I want to break off the engagement. I am perfectly clear-headed.”
Yan Jingshuang looked directly at Master Ning, her gaze neither evasive nor yielding. Her composure was almost unsettling.
That suffocating silence once again swept into everyone’s hearts.
Especially the noble young ladies who had always looked down on Yan Jingshuang. Their faces immediately paled, and their eyes widened.
Yan Jingshuang…… had she gone crazy?
And the people who thought Yan Jingshuang had gone crazy were certainly not limited to the people present in the banquet hall……
【Holy sh*t, holy sh*t, holy sh*t!】
【Holy sh*t, holy sh*t, holy sh*t +1!】
【Holy sh*t, holy sh*t, holy sh*t +2!】
【Holy sh*t, holy sh*t, holy sh*t +100!】
【Those above me are coming out swinging with the classic profanity!】
【Only profanity can express how shocked I am right now! Did Yan Jingshuang go crazy? Did I miss something? Was this scene in the original novel?】
【As someone who has read the original novel three times, I’m telling you, this scene absolutely did not exist in the original. Yan Jingshuang was nothing more than a tool character, a catalyst for our Xuexuezi and Momozi’s romance. Plenty of people hated her. Half the difficulties in Xuexuezi and Momozi’s relationship were caused by Yan Jingshuang.】
【Exactly! There was a chapter where Momozi was about to confess his feelings to Xuexuezi, but Yan Jingshuang happened to visit him. Poor Momozi was forcibly taken away by Old Man Ning, and Xuexuezi was hurt. The second male protagonist took advantage of the opportunity. That whole plot made me furious!】
【I remember that part too. It disgusted me so much. Every time Momozi and Xuexuezi’s little flame of love was just about to ignite, Yan Jingshuang would appear to brush her existence in everyone’s faces. Just looking at her made me sick. Ptooey.】
【Wait, did Xuemo rewrite the plot because we all hated Yan Jingshuang so much? Didn’t they say her brain is synced up to the mainframe of this virtual novel world, meaning she can alter the plot whenever and wherever she wants?】
【But Xuemo used to be good at melodramatic, heart-wrenching stories. This time she’s coming back to revise her masterpiece from back then. Could she actually be turning it into a sweet little romance?】
【It’s not impossible. Don’t most people like sweet romances nowadays? Xuemo has to make a living too, so she’s catering to the market. Anyway, Yan Jingshuang is annoying as hell. It’s better to deal with her early.】
【But even if you’re changing the story, this isn’t the way to do it! Yan Jingshuang is so ugly, she’s useless at everything, and she isn’t even worthy of putting on Xuexuezi’s shoes. Her only advantage is her family background. Why is she the one breaking off the engagement with our Momozi? It should obviously be Momozi dumping her!】
【……I happened to click into this novel, and the worldview is seriously twisted. I can’t believe it has so many fans. Yan Jingshuang hasn’t done anything wrong. From beginning to end, she’s the true victim. She’s Ning Mo’s fiancée, yet without ever making things clear to Yan Jingshuang, Ning Mo gets involved with Ming Chuxue behind her back. Later, he even uses Yan Jingshuang to make Ming Chuxue jealous. In the end, the two of them get their happy ending, while Yan Jingshuang’s entire family is destroyed, her appearance is ruined, her hands and feet are severed, her voice is poisoned into silence, and she’s exiled to the frontier…… It’s only because this was an old-fashioned novel, back when there weren’t many big-name authors, that Xuemo managed to rise to fame. Still, it’s fortunate that she actually found her conscience and wants to change the plot. That makes me a little curious about the revised story.】
That long comment in bright green font stood out amid a sea of white text, yet it flashed past in an instant. Soon, a massive surge of white comments flooded the screen— all cursing that green comment, lambasting Yan Jingshuang, and spamming the screen with praises for how deeply moving the love between Ming Chuxue and Ning Mo was.
Yan Jingshuang watched the comments rapidly drifting across her field of vision. There was little change in her expression. Only when the green comment appeared did her dark eyes pause for the briefest moment.
After watching them for nearly a month, she had gradually grown accustomed to the strange phenomenon of bizarre characters suddenly floating before her eyes.
At first, even someone as composed as Yan Jingshuang had been so shocked that she had shut herself away for an entire day and night. She had even considered seeking a physician or praying at a temple, wondering whether the lightning strike had somehow caused something abnormal to happen to her body.
It was not until one day, when Ning Mo suddenly asked to meet her, that everything changed. Yan Jingshuang had rarely shown such obvious joy. Ning Mo was diligent and studious and seldom took the initiative to ask her out.
Yan Jingshuang carefully dressed herself before going to meet him. And that day had brought surprise after surprise.
Ning Mo had come to give her a gift.
The two of them had been engaged for some time, but normally it was the Ning family who sent gifts to the Yan family. Ning Mo himself rarely gave her anything.
Yan Jingshuang had never minded. The difference between their families’ statuses was considerable. Perhaps Ning Mo was afraid that a gift he chose would not please her. Because of that, Yan Jingshuang rarely mentioned gifts in front of him, worried that doing so might wound Ning Mo’s proud sense of dignity.
Yan Jingshuang remembered that day’s scene very clearly.
She even remembered that Ning Mo had been wearing a new pale-yellow brocade robe. He had stood on a snow-covered winter street like a tall and vigorous orchid.
Yan Jingshuang did not show anything on her face, but her steps quickened. A hint of softness entered her normally stern features. She had thought Ning Mo had deliberately put on new clothes just to come see her.
As she approached, Ning Mo’s handsome and refined features came clearly into view. He always wore a smile, and his eyes seemed to conceal an endless spring breeze.
The troubled waters of Yan Jingshuang’s heart, which had been disturbed by those strange characters over the past few days, became slightly calmer.
She did not know why, but she had taken a liking to Ning Mo from the very first moment she saw him as a child.
That day, Ning Mo handed her a piece of green jade.
Yan Jingshuang had seen plenty of precious treasures. With one glance, she recognized that the pendant had been carved from fine Hetian jade and was worth a considerable sum.
Something unusual appeared in her eyes. But she also knew that Master Ning did not give Ning Mo much spending money. He must have saved for a long time to afford this jade pendant.
Looking at the pendant in Ning Mo’s hand, Yan Jingshuang felt as though a warm current had flowed into her heart.
Yet she still gently shook her head. “Ning Mo, this jade pendant is too valuable. I can’t accept it. Why don’t you exchange it for some writing brushes, ink—”
Before she could finish her sentence, Ning Mo interrupted her.
“I just want to give you something. Is it really that hard?” Ning Mo, who was always gentle and mild-spoken, strangely displayed a trace of irritation that day.
Yan Jingshuang’s eyelids twitched slightly. She blinked. After a moment, she parted her lips and said in a soft tone, “I’ll accept the jade pendant. Coincidentally, I had also planned to give you a gift today. It’s that Duan inkstone you admired at Babao Pavilion[1]Eight Treasures Pavilion jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3361167_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3361167_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], }); last time. I’ll have Huajia deliver it to you later.”
Yan Jingshuang remembered how Ning Mo had stood in front of that Duan inkstone at Babao Pavilion last time, lingering there for a long while.
She gave Huajia a meaningful glance.
Huajia understood immediately. Her young miss was using the return gift as an excuse to show consideration for Young Master Ning.
But Ning Mo seemed to have something else on his mind this time. Even when he heard about the Duan inkstone he had coveted for so long, he showed little reaction. He merely lowered his eyes and nodded absentmindedly.
Yan Jingshuang pressed her lips together and looked at Ning Mo with concern. She wondered whether he had accumulated too much schoolwork lately.
A few days ago, she was struck by lightning and seemed to have received several ginseng roots. Perhaps when she returned, she could sort them out and send them all to Ning Mo.
But just as Yan Jingshuang was about to reach out and take the jade pendant from Ning Mo’s hand, a line of white text suddenly floated across her field of vision.
【Girl, are you dumb? Don’t take it! That’s the rejected gift he tried to give his white moonlight[2]a person’s unattainable first love, idealized crush, or perfect romantic ideal jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3361167_1_2').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3361167_1_2', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });! He’s just regifting trash to brush you off like an idiot— plus he’s totally doing it to make her jealous!】
Yan Jingshuang froze, and the hand she had extended trembled instinctively.
When she came back to her senses, all she saw was the green jade pendant shattered on the ground and Ning Mo, who rarely displayed even a trace of anger, looking at her with a hint of fury.
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